This article is descriptive research that takes into account the growing concerns of the authorities of the municipality of Coyah regarding waste management, as well as our desire to contribute to improving the living...This article is descriptive research that takes into account the growing concerns of the authorities of the municipality of Coyah regarding waste management, as well as our desire to contribute to improving the living conditions of the inhabitants of this region. The main objective is to assess the environmental impacts of uncontrolled waste collection points on the receiving environments, by characterizing and evaluating them. This will make it possible to propose appropriate measures for rational and sustainable management of the environment in Coyah. The study addresses the characterization and assessment of pollution of receiving environments, including water, soil and air. Environmental analyses were carried out according to standard methods of EPA (1997), adapted to the equipment of the companies Hach, Millipore and Verlan. During the environmental impact assessment, we identified the sources of pollution and assessed the potential impacts. This research highlighted the pollution of receiving environments by waste located in the vicinity of collection points, while considering solutions for efficient and sustainable waste management.展开更多
During times of war, it is rare to find a government willing and able to require the military to fund and support environmental impact studies. In the 1960s, many United States scientists expressed concerns about the ...During times of war, it is rare to find a government willing and able to require the military to fund and support environmental impact studies. In the 1960s, many United States scientists expressed concerns about the use of herbicides during the Vietnam War. This protest was led by Dr. Arthur Galston and eventually included scientists with the National Academy of Science. By 1970, the Department of Defense (DoD) was ordered to permit the scientists to visit South Vietnam during the war to document these impacts. In all 1500 scientist days were spent in South Vietnam. In addition, the US government and military funded research studies on the impact of herbicides on animals. The goal of military use of herbicides, as chemical weapons, was to defoliate jungle forests and destroy food crops as a strategy to win battles and the war. The primary objective of this research study is to describe how it is possible for a country to fund and carry out scientific studies during the conduct of a war rather than decades later. The environmental impact study findings often lack boots on the ground validation and can be inaccurate or misleading in some situations. The United States (US) and other countries, including Russia and Ukraine, need to learn the historical lessons from the US use of herbicides, containing dioxin TCDD and/or arsenic (As), as chemical weapons during the Vietnam War.展开更多
A country’s ability to create complex goods and diversify its lines of products is essential for addressing all types of vulnerabilities.Quantifying a country’s vulnerability to extreme climatic events,such as droug...A country’s ability to create complex goods and diversify its lines of products is essential for addressing all types of vulnerabilities.Quantifying a country’s vulnerability to extreme climatic events,such as droughts,superstorms,and other natural disasters,and its capacity for successful adaption,is an essential global need that has been ignored.This study examines the role of economic fitness(EF)in addressing climate change risk ex‐posure in BRICS countries in the context of the environmental Kuznets curve using panel data from 1995 to 2015.Panel threshold methodology is employed to ascertain the nonlinear relationship between EF and climate change risk exposure(i.e.,Notre Dame Global Adaptation Initiative Country Index(ND-GAIN)).In addition,empirical associations were estimated using panel-corrected standard errors,Driscoll-Kraay standard errors,and feasible generalized least squares estimation techniques.These findings demonstrated an inverted N shaped link between EF and ND-GAIN.Moreover,even after controlling for significant ND-GAIN influencing variables such as gross domestic product per capita,financial development,and urbanization,our robustness checks revealed significant and consistent findings.展开更多
The sharing of telecommunications infrastructure and power supply equipment is currently an applicable and very common model for grouping signal transmission and reception equipment and their power supply on the same ...The sharing of telecommunications infrastructure and power supply equipment is currently an applicable and very common model for grouping signal transmission and reception equipment and their power supply on the same site to ensure coverage of fixed, mobile, Internet and radio and television broadcasting networks. This study consists of producing an inventory of telecommunications and energy infrastructure sharing, focusing on the one hand on analyzing the impacts of active and passive sharing of telecommunications infrastructure from a technical point of view, particularly in terms of legal framework, deployment, coverage and exposure to electromagnetic radiation, and on the other hand on identifying the effects of infrastructure sharing from a socio-economic point of view in a multi-operator mobile telephony environment, by indicating the economic value of the revenue generated as a result of infrastructure sharing. Finally, the results will contribute to identify strategies for ensuring maximum deployment and coverage of the country, and for developing the information and communication technologies (ICT) sector in order to contribute to the digital transformation by digitising services using mobile telephony and the Internet in Burundi.展开更多
Despite the economic importance of farmed shrimp, a number of technical, environmental, economic and social problems have been widely reported in the international literature. This paper focuses on the environmental a...Despite the economic importance of farmed shrimp, a number of technical, environmental, economic and social problems have been widely reported in the international literature. This paper focuses on the environmental and socio-economic impacts of semi-intensive and intensive shrimp farming in the coastal region of Northeastern Brazil and the identification of options for sustainable production. In this Region, the total area dedicated to shrimp farming is approximately 18,500 ha, of which 5750 ha are located in Ceará State. The estuary of Jaguaribe river has the largest number of shrimp farms in the state of Ceará. Currently, the industry has 64 participating farms with a total area dedicated to shrimp farming of 2411.3 ha. In 2011, the total production was 13,110 tons of shrimp with an average yield of 6330 kg ha1.year-1 in a pond area of 2071.2 ha. This industry employs 2350 people that represent 23.2% of jobs generated in the two municipalities where the Jaguaribe river estuary is inserted. Compared with other countries, Brazil has reduced its exports due to high cost inputs for shrimp farming. However, the Brazilian shrimp industry has benefited from high domestic prices, despite the decreases in international price of shrimp. In 2011, the prices for size category ranged between U$ 4.67 - 6.04 for 80/100 (count of head-on shrimp), U$ 4.95 - 6.60 for 70/80 and U$ 5.展开更多
The objective of this research is to assess the global economic and greenhouse gas emission impacts of banning GMO crops. This is done by modeling two counterfac-tual scenarios and evaluating them apart and in combina...The objective of this research is to assess the global economic and greenhouse gas emission impacts of banning GMO crops. This is done by modeling two counterfac-tual scenarios and evaluating them apart and in combination using a well-know Computable General Equilibrium (CGE) model, GTAP-BIO. The first scenario models the impact of a global GMO ban. The second scenario models the impact of increased GMO penetration. The focus is on the price and welfare impacts, and land use change greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions associated with GMO technologies. Much of the prior work on the economic impacts of GMO technology has relied on a combination of partial equilibrium analysis and econometric techniques. However, CGE model-ling is a way of analyzing economy-wide impacts that take into account the linkages in the global economy. Here the goal is to contribute to the literature on the benefits of GMO technology by estimating the impacts on price, supply and welfare. Food price impacts range from an increase of 0.27% to 2.2%, depending on the region. Total welfare losses associated with loss of GMO technology total up to $9.75 bil-lion. The loss of GMO traits as an intensification technology has not only economic impacts, but also environmental ones. The full environmental analysis of GMO is not undertaken here. Rather we model the land use change owing to the loss of GMO traits and calculate the associated increase in GHG emissions. We predict a substan-tial increase in GHG emissions if GMO technology is banned.展开更多
This study presents an analysis of the impact of forest fires in Puerto Rico for the period from 2013-2014. The climatological factors analyzed included precipitation, temperature, relative humidity, and wind. Several...This study presents an analysis of the impact of forest fires in Puerto Rico for the period from 2013-2014. The climatological factors analyzed included precipitation, temperature, relative humidity, and wind. Several factors have combined to the increase of these forest fires, among others, a decrease in precipitation during this period, as well as an increase in the human involvement in these fires from approximately 40% occurs in the night period (5:00 pm to 8:00 am), where the weather conditions do not favor the appearance of these phenomena. An increase in fires of 44% occurred in 2013 compared to 2014, causing an economic loss of $13.8 million. Fire also adversely affected the flora and fauna of the island, but this was not evaluated in this paper.展开更多
In this work,a methodological framework has been developed in the form of an algorithmic process,which includes 28 stages of activities and 6 decision nodes,for the assessment of the environmental impact caused by ind...In this work,a methodological framework has been developed in the form of an algorithmic process,which includes 28 stages of activities and 6 decision nodes,for the assessment of the environmental impact caused by industrial activities.The main part of this process is a modification of the Contingent Valuation Method(CVM),which relied heavily on research based on the WTP-WTA(Willingness to Pay/Receive,respectively)assessment.The research can be carried out either in a strictly controlled environment or on site and as is(“in laboratory conditions”or“real conditions”,respectively,in the terminology of experimental economics).The application of this methodology is presented,referring to three cases of industrial pollution(in three different locations)caused by(i)a cement plant,(ii)an oil refinery complex,and(iii)a small industrial town with a heavily polluted port,in which several industrial units coexist,while all of them are located near Athens,Greece.The results are interpreted/discussed and conclusions are drawn.展开更多
At present, along with China's booming economic development, environmental pollution is increasing. This paper first uses the entropy weight method to calculate the comprehensive indicators of environmental pollut...At present, along with China's booming economic development, environmental pollution is increasing. This paper first uses the entropy weight method to calculate the comprehensive indicators of environmental pollution, takes 30 provinces in China (except Tibet) as the research object and uses the provincial panel data covering the years 2000-2015, to explores the impact of capital expansion on environmental pollution under the condition of unbalanced economic development in China. The results show that the more serious the unbalanced growth of sectoral economy is, the more distorted China's capital expansion will be, and distorted capital expansion will further aggravate environmental pollution. Finally, based on the empirical research results of this paper, the policy recommendations for improving the environment are proposed from the perspective of capital expansion.展开更多
A statistically representative questionnaire targeted people using rainwater harvesting(RWH)techniques in rural communities of Sarida catchment,West Bank,Palestine was distributed and analyzed.The main objective of th...A statistically representative questionnaire targeted people using rainwater harvesting(RWH)techniques in rural communities of Sarida catchment,West Bank,Palestine was distributed and analyzed.The main objective of this study is to assess the social,economic,and environmental impacts of adopting RWH techniques(e.g.cisterns,concrete and clay ponds,Wadi ponds,earth dams,and stone terraces)in different uses to increase water availability.The results showed a simple sharing of the female component among beneficiaries,while concrete ponds and cisterns were the most used techniques.Actually,social impacts were noticeable by sharing the same RWH structure and reflected to responsibility skills and role exchange increases.On the other hand,RWH techniques showed a significant economic impact for end users represented by enhancing domestic,agricultural,and recreational activities leading to good profit increase.In addition to food security as output,the most important environmental impact was water wasting prevention,which in turn could be linked to sustainable water management and considered as universal challenge for future generations.展开更多
With increasing population and changing demographics,food consumption has experienced a significant transition in quantity and quality.However,a dearth of knowledge remains regarding its environmental impacts and how ...With increasing population and changing demographics,food consumption has experienced a significant transition in quantity and quality.However,a dearth of knowledge remains regarding its environmental impacts and how it responds to demographic dynamics,particularly in emerging economies like China.Using the two-stage Quadratic Almost Demand System(QUAIDS)model,this study empirically examines the impact of demographic dynamics on food consumption and its environmental outcomes based on the provincial data from 2000 to 2020 in China.Under various scenarios,according to changes in demographics,we extend our analysis to project the long-term trend of food consumption and its environmental impacts,including greenhouse gas(GHG)emissions,water footprint(WF),and land appropriation(LA).The results reveal that an increase in the proportion of senior people significantly decreases the consumption of grain and livestock meat and increases the consumption of poultry,egg,and aquatic products,particularly for urban residents.Moreover,an increase in the proportion of males in the population leads to higher consumption of poultry and aquatic products.Correspondingly,in the current scenario of an increased aging population and sex ratio,it is anticipated that GHG emissions,WF,and LA are likely to decrease by 1.37,2.52,and 3.56%,respectively.More importantly,in the scenario adhering to the standards of nutritional intake according to the Dietary Guidelines for Chinese Residents in 2022,GHG emissions,WF,and LA in urban areas would increase by 12.78,20.94,and 18.32%,respectively.Our findings suggest that changing demographics should be considered when designing policies to mitigate the diet-environment-health trilemma and achieve sustainable food consumption.展开更多
[Objective] The aim was to investigate the application effect of swine manure-straw returning and to determine the best mode. [Method] A field experiment under rice and wheat rotation with different swine manure-straw...[Objective] The aim was to investigate the application effect of swine manure-straw returning and to determine the best mode. [Method] A field experiment under rice and wheat rotation with different swine manure-straw treatments was con- ducted to study the growth characters and output of rice and wheat, calculate the economic benefit and carbon dioxide emission reduction, and analyze the best mode of swine manure applying-straw returning. [Result] The swine manure-straw returning was conducive to the growth of crop, the highest outputs of rice and wheat were on the treatment of ＂30% swine manure and 20% straw and 50% chemical fertiliz- er＂, they were 7 874.57 and 6 427.00 kg/hm^2, and saved cost about 5 146.35 Yuan/hm^2, increased input 5 312.56 and 3 931.93 Yuan/hm^2, the greenhouse gas e- mission reduction was 1.30 t/hm^2 （calculated according to carbon dioxide on a dry basis）. [Conclusion] The treatment of ＂30% swine manure and 20% straw and 50% chemical fertilizer＂ was the best mode of swine manure-straw returning.展开更多
Carbon peak and carbon neutrality(dual-carbon)are important targets for the international response to climate change.The Silk Road Economic Belt is a strategic resource region and is important for future ecological en...Carbon peak and carbon neutrality(dual-carbon)are important targets for the international response to climate change.The Silk Road Economic Belt is a strategic resource region and is important for future ecological environment and tourism development.Based on the“dual-carbon”targets,the Single index quantification,Multiple index synthesis,and Poly-criteria integration evaluation model were used in this study to measure the coordinated development index of the ecological environment,public service,and tourism economy along the Silk Road Economic Belt and to analyze its spatial and temporal evolution.Further,it explores the dynamic evolution and development trend of the three systems using the Kernel Density and Grey Markov Prediction Model.The results show that the coordinated development index along this region needs to be improved during the study period.Furthermore,the coordinated development index of the Southwest region is relatively higher than that of the Northwest region.From the development trend of the three systems,all of them develop in a stable manner;however,the tourism economy system is easily affected by external disturbances.The coordinated development index of the three systems changes dynamically and tends to be in a good state of coordination.There is a certain spatial and temporal heterogeneity.The gravity center of the coordinated development index has been in the Southwest region.During the forecast period,the coordinated development index along this region will improve significantly,while insufficient and unbalanced development will continue.展开更多
Community-based ecotourism (CBET) aims to empower local communities through engagement and participation. Cambodia serves as a prime example of a developing country where the local community necessitates sustained sta...Community-based ecotourism (CBET) aims to empower local communities through engagement and participation. Cambodia serves as a prime example of a developing country where the local community necessitates sustained stakeholder support to foster empowerment and promote local economic development. Ecotourism and conservation are among the major issues of concern in the study of community development. This study used the main five eco-tourism areas in Cambodia as examples. It looks at the connections between eco-innovations in tourism products, community engagement, co-creation experiences, support for CBET, perceived impact likelihood outcomes, community economic benefits, environmentally responsible behavior in ecotourism sites, and biodiversity conservation. The study employed a quantitative research approach to investigate and parameterize the dynamic ecotourism components as well as to explore key factors that influence the CBET. We collected the data using a self-administered survey on 398 local eco-based tourism communities that sell services and products to tourists. We also asked for structured questionnaire items of local communities that provide tourism services to visitors in eco-tourism destination sites in 2022-2023. The SEM results showed that this study significantly impacted and confirmed all relationships among research variables, as proposed in the conceptual model. We also discuss in detail the research findings of this study.展开更多
Renewable energy technologies, while often labeled as clean or net-zero alternatives to fossil fuels, involve substantial use of critical minerals in products like electric vehicles, solar panels, wind turbines, and b...Renewable energy technologies, while often labeled as clean or net-zero alternatives to fossil fuels, involve substantial use of critical minerals in products like electric vehicles, solar panels, wind turbines, and battery storage systems. This aspect is frequently underappreciated, yet studies indicate it could be a significant area of environmental impact. For instance, research has shown that a typical electric vehicle needs around six times the mineral resources of a conventional vehicle, while an onshore wind turbine requires nine times the mineral input compared to a gas power plant of similar capacity. This paper seeks to analyze the environmental effects linked to the critical minerals required by certain renewable energy technologies. The study begins with an estimation of the future megawatt capacities for each type of renewable technology. Next, it calculates the specific mineral quantities necessary for each model, followed by an assessment of the environmental repercussions tied to their extraction and processing. The results highlight the unique environmental challenges posed by the rising demand for minerals in solar and wind energy systems, taking into account various adoption scenarios.展开更多
Wind energy is one of the most basic forms of renewable energy,which shows an increasing rate of development worldwide and also at the European level.However,this rapid deployment of wind farms makes the need for an i...Wind energy is one of the most basic forms of renewable energy,which shows an increasing rate of development worldwide and also at the European level.However,this rapid deployment of wind farms makes the need for an impact assessment of this type of projects on the natural and man-made environment imperative.The present paper aims to identify and assess the environmental impacts of wind farm projects in the Region of Central Greece.A modified Rapid Impact Assessment Matrix(RIAM)method is used for this purpose.The methodology includes the identification of the existing onshore wind farm projects in the study area,the appropriate modifications of the RIAM method to respond to the characteristics of the projects and the study area,the qualitative assessment of their potential impacts during construction and operational phases and the computation of the Environmental Performance Grade(EPG)of projects based on the pro-posed modified RIAM method.The results reveal that although there are some slight negative impacts on the natural environment of the study area,the examined wind farms contribute positively both to the atmosphere and to the socio-economic environment of the study.This study extends the potential for using RIAM as a tool in environmental impact assessment studies of renewable energy projects.展开更多
Micro-energy systems contribute significantly to environmental improvement by reducing dependence on power grids through the utilization of multiple renewable energy sources.This study quantified the environmental imp...Micro-energy systems contribute significantly to environmental improvement by reducing dependence on power grids through the utilization of multiple renewable energy sources.This study quantified the environmental impact of a micro-energy network system in an industrial park through a life cycle assessment using the operation of the micro-energy network over a year as the functional unit and“cradle-to-gate”as the system boundary.Based on the baseline scenario,a natural gas generator set was added to replace central heating,and the light pipes were expanded to constitute the optimized scenario.The results showed that the key impact categories for both scenarios were global warming,fine particulate matter formation,human carcinogenic toxicity,and human non-carcinogenic toxicity.The overall environmental impact of the optimized scenario was reduced by 68%compared to the baseline scenario.A sensitivity analysis of the key factors showed that electricity from the power grid was the key impact factor in both scenarios,followed by central heating and natural gas.Therefore,to reduce the environmental impact of network systems,it is necessary to further optimize the grid power structure.The research approach can be used to optimize micro-energy networks and evaluate the environmental impact of different energy systems.展开更多
Because of environmental constraints,beef cattle was for more than a century the only viable farming option in the extensive semiarid and subhumid lands of Argentina and the main source of nutrients for humans as well...Because of environmental constraints,beef cattle was for more than a century the only viable farming option in the extensive semiarid and subhumid lands of Argentina and the main source of nutrients for humans as well.However,a growing concern and criticism have risen today about its possible negative impact on the climate and the environment.These worries tend to affect current public opinions,national policies,and international trade.Based on 40 beef cattle farms scattered across different semiarid and subhumid regions of Argentina,here we evaluated the impact of extensive cattle production on carbon,water,and nutrient pollution.Life-Cycle Assessment(LCA)and Land-Based Assessment(LBA)were the two approaches we used here to compare the environmental impact of beef production.While the environmental footprint(EF)resulting from LCA expresses the impact per unit of food,the environmental balance(EB),derived from LBA,aims at quantifying the impact per unit of land.As such,the EB considers both negative and positive impacts on the farm as an integrated system.Following standardized procedures,we evaluated EF and EB up to the farm gate,leaving aside delocalized post-farm impacts such as those of processing,packaging,and transportation that occur beyond the farm gate.In agreement with previous evidence,our results show that the EF tends to decrease as per-head production increases.Correlation coefficients and statistical significance were the following for carbon(R=−0.574;p<0.01),water(R=−0.561;p<0.01),and N(R=−0.704;p<0.01)and Phosphorus(P)pollution(R=−0.802;p<0.01)footprints.On the contrary,the EB seems to be highly sensitive,and as per-hectare beef production increases.Correlations were the following for carbon emissions(CE:R=0.955;p<0.01),water consumption(WC:R=0.822;p<0.01),nitrogen excretion(NE:R=0.948;p<0.01)and phosphorus excretion(PE:R=0.945;p<0.01).What our results suggest is that the notion of EF is useful to evaluate the environmental impact in intensive beef production systems,and the EB is suitable to assess the impact of the extensive ones.In practice,both approaches provide different perspectives on the environmental-impact problem and they should be complementary used.We concluded that the methodological rigidity of EF does not allow proper discrimination among farms in the extensive systems.On the contrary,the EB approach tended to be highly sensitive to detecting differences between individual farms and farmers,thus allowing the identification of successful options for extensive beef production in terms of public image,policy-making,and commercial opportunities.展开更多
A good quality Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) is key for the effectiveness of Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) processes and consequently to the acceptability of projects subject to EIA. The international l...A good quality Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) is key for the effectiveness of Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) processes and consequently to the acceptability of projects subject to EIA. The international literature has contributed to the understanding of the essential aspects to be verified regarding the quality of EIS, offering a wide spectrum of good practice examples related to the content of the studies. Even so, there is a need for empirical studies that allow the identification of specific aspects related to the context of application of the EIS, which could lead to the identification of opportunities to improve both the quality of the reports and also the effectiveness of EIA. Therefore, the present paper is focused on the quality review of a number of EIS submitted to the Brazilian Federal Environmental Agency (Ibama) to instruct the assessment of electric power transmission systems. Based on the application of the EIS quality review package as proposed by Lee and Colley (1992), the outcomes reveal opportunities for improving the scope of EIA, analysis of alternatives, prediction of magnitude and the assessment of impact significance. Finally, the development and/or adaptation of a similar tool for the systematic review of the quality of EIA reports is recommended.展开更多
Follow-up of environmental impacts is an integral part of the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) process, closely related to the effectiveness of the instrument. EIA follow-up has been receiving a lot of interest f...Follow-up of environmental impacts is an integral part of the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) process, closely related to the effectiveness of the instrument. EIA follow-up has been receiving a lot of interest from scientists and practitioners, though it is recognized as one of the weakest points of EIA systems globally. Also, EIA follow-up is influenced by the context, mainly in terms of the types of projects or activities and their related impacts on the environment. Therefore, the present paper is focused on the investigation of the follow-up stage applied to the activity of seismic survey coupled with offshore oil & gas exploitation in Brazil. Research was based on a qualitative approach that included document analysis and semi-structured interviews with analysts involved in EIA processes, and sought to generate evidence of effectiveness of the EIA follow-up as conducted by the Federal Environment Agency (Ibama) in order to situate the practice of follow-up in the broader context of international best practice principles. Based on the findings, it was concluded that, due to the peculiarities of offshore seismic survey, it is necessary to promote adaptations in the procedures for monitoring impacts in order to ensure proper alignment with the principles and conceptual foundations that guide EIA practice. Specifically, the timing of the execution of the activity imposes challenges for its integration into the “conventional” cycle that has guided the monitoring of the impacts in the EIA of projects.展开更多
文摘This article is descriptive research that takes into account the growing concerns of the authorities of the municipality of Coyah regarding waste management, as well as our desire to contribute to improving the living conditions of the inhabitants of this region. The main objective is to assess the environmental impacts of uncontrolled waste collection points on the receiving environments, by characterizing and evaluating them. This will make it possible to propose appropriate measures for rational and sustainable management of the environment in Coyah. The study addresses the characterization and assessment of pollution of receiving environments, including water, soil and air. Environmental analyses were carried out according to standard methods of EPA (1997), adapted to the equipment of the companies Hach, Millipore and Verlan. During the environmental impact assessment, we identified the sources of pollution and assessed the potential impacts. This research highlighted the pollution of receiving environments by waste located in the vicinity of collection points, while considering solutions for efficient and sustainable waste management.
文摘During times of war, it is rare to find a government willing and able to require the military to fund and support environmental impact studies. In the 1960s, many United States scientists expressed concerns about the use of herbicides during the Vietnam War. This protest was led by Dr. Arthur Galston and eventually included scientists with the National Academy of Science. By 1970, the Department of Defense (DoD) was ordered to permit the scientists to visit South Vietnam during the war to document these impacts. In all 1500 scientist days were spent in South Vietnam. In addition, the US government and military funded research studies on the impact of herbicides on animals. The goal of military use of herbicides, as chemical weapons, was to defoliate jungle forests and destroy food crops as a strategy to win battles and the war. The primary objective of this research study is to describe how it is possible for a country to fund and carry out scientific studies during the conduct of a war rather than decades later. The environmental impact study findings often lack boots on the ground validation and can be inaccurate or misleading in some situations. The United States (US) and other countries, including Russia and Ukraine, need to learn the historical lessons from the US use of herbicides, containing dioxin TCDD and/or arsenic (As), as chemical weapons during the Vietnam War.
文摘A country’s ability to create complex goods and diversify its lines of products is essential for addressing all types of vulnerabilities.Quantifying a country’s vulnerability to extreme climatic events,such as droughts,superstorms,and other natural disasters,and its capacity for successful adaption,is an essential global need that has been ignored.This study examines the role of economic fitness(EF)in addressing climate change risk ex‐posure in BRICS countries in the context of the environmental Kuznets curve using panel data from 1995 to 2015.Panel threshold methodology is employed to ascertain the nonlinear relationship between EF and climate change risk exposure(i.e.,Notre Dame Global Adaptation Initiative Country Index(ND-GAIN)).In addition,empirical associations were estimated using panel-corrected standard errors,Driscoll-Kraay standard errors,and feasible generalized least squares estimation techniques.These findings demonstrated an inverted N shaped link between EF and ND-GAIN.Moreover,even after controlling for significant ND-GAIN influencing variables such as gross domestic product per capita,financial development,and urbanization,our robustness checks revealed significant and consistent findings.
文摘The sharing of telecommunications infrastructure and power supply equipment is currently an applicable and very common model for grouping signal transmission and reception equipment and their power supply on the same site to ensure coverage of fixed, mobile, Internet and radio and television broadcasting networks. This study consists of producing an inventory of telecommunications and energy infrastructure sharing, focusing on the one hand on analyzing the impacts of active and passive sharing of telecommunications infrastructure from a technical point of view, particularly in terms of legal framework, deployment, coverage and exposure to electromagnetic radiation, and on the other hand on identifying the effects of infrastructure sharing from a socio-economic point of view in a multi-operator mobile telephony environment, by indicating the economic value of the revenue generated as a result of infrastructure sharing. Finally, the results will contribute to identify strategies for ensuring maximum deployment and coverage of the country, and for developing the information and communication technologies (ICT) sector in order to contribute to the digital transformation by digitising services using mobile telephony and the Internet in Burundi.
文摘Despite the economic importance of farmed shrimp, a number of technical, environmental, economic and social problems have been widely reported in the international literature. This paper focuses on the environmental and socio-economic impacts of semi-intensive and intensive shrimp farming in the coastal region of Northeastern Brazil and the identification of options for sustainable production. In this Region, the total area dedicated to shrimp farming is approximately 18,500 ha, of which 5750 ha are located in Ceará State. The estuary of Jaguaribe river has the largest number of shrimp farms in the state of Ceará. Currently, the industry has 64 participating farms with a total area dedicated to shrimp farming of 2411.3 ha. In 2011, the total production was 13,110 tons of shrimp with an average yield of 6330 kg ha1.year-1 in a pond area of 2071.2 ha. This industry employs 2350 people that represent 23.2% of jobs generated in the two municipalities where the Jaguaribe river estuary is inserted. Compared with other countries, Brazil has reduced its exports due to high cost inputs for shrimp farming. However, the Brazilian shrimp industry has benefited from high domestic prices, despite the decreases in international price of shrimp. In 2011, the prices for size category ranged between U$ 4.67 - 6.04 for 80/100 (count of head-on shrimp), U$ 4.95 - 6.60 for 70/80 and U$ 5.
文摘The objective of this research is to assess the global economic and greenhouse gas emission impacts of banning GMO crops. This is done by modeling two counterfac-tual scenarios and evaluating them apart and in combination using a well-know Computable General Equilibrium (CGE) model, GTAP-BIO. The first scenario models the impact of a global GMO ban. The second scenario models the impact of increased GMO penetration. The focus is on the price and welfare impacts, and land use change greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions associated with GMO technologies. Much of the prior work on the economic impacts of GMO technology has relied on a combination of partial equilibrium analysis and econometric techniques. However, CGE model-ling is a way of analyzing economy-wide impacts that take into account the linkages in the global economy. Here the goal is to contribute to the literature on the benefits of GMO technology by estimating the impacts on price, supply and welfare. Food price impacts range from an increase of 0.27% to 2.2%, depending on the region. Total welfare losses associated with loss of GMO technology total up to $9.75 bil-lion. The loss of GMO traits as an intensification technology has not only economic impacts, but also environmental ones. The full environmental analysis of GMO is not undertaken here. Rather we model the land use change owing to the loss of GMO traits and calculate the associated increase in GHG emissions. We predict a substan-tial increase in GHG emissions if GMO technology is banned.
文摘This study presents an analysis of the impact of forest fires in Puerto Rico for the period from 2013-2014. The climatological factors analyzed included precipitation, temperature, relative humidity, and wind. Several factors have combined to the increase of these forest fires, among others, a decrease in precipitation during this period, as well as an increase in the human involvement in these fires from approximately 40% occurs in the night period (5:00 pm to 8:00 am), where the weather conditions do not favor the appearance of these phenomena. An increase in fires of 44% occurred in 2013 compared to 2014, causing an economic loss of $13.8 million. Fire also adversely affected the flora and fauna of the island, but this was not evaluated in this paper.
文摘In this work,a methodological framework has been developed in the form of an algorithmic process,which includes 28 stages of activities and 6 decision nodes,for the assessment of the environmental impact caused by industrial activities.The main part of this process is a modification of the Contingent Valuation Method(CVM),which relied heavily on research based on the WTP-WTA(Willingness to Pay/Receive,respectively)assessment.The research can be carried out either in a strictly controlled environment or on site and as is(“in laboratory conditions”or“real conditions”,respectively,in the terminology of experimental economics).The application of this methodology is presented,referring to three cases of industrial pollution(in three different locations)caused by(i)a cement plant,(ii)an oil refinery complex,and(iii)a small industrial town with a heavily polluted port,in which several industrial units coexist,while all of them are located near Athens,Greece.The results are interpreted/discussed and conclusions are drawn.
基金a grant from the National Social Science Foundation of China (No. 16BJY057).
文摘At present, along with China's booming economic development, environmental pollution is increasing. This paper first uses the entropy weight method to calculate the comprehensive indicators of environmental pollution, takes 30 provinces in China (except Tibet) as the research object and uses the provincial panel data covering the years 2000-2015, to explores the impact of capital expansion on environmental pollution under the condition of unbalanced economic development in China. The results show that the more serious the unbalanced growth of sectoral economy is, the more distorted China's capital expansion will be, and distorted capital expansion will further aggravate environmental pollution. Finally, based on the empirical research results of this paper, the policy recommendations for improving the environment are proposed from the perspective of capital expansion.
文摘A statistically representative questionnaire targeted people using rainwater harvesting(RWH)techniques in rural communities of Sarida catchment,West Bank,Palestine was distributed and analyzed.The main objective of this study is to assess the social,economic,and environmental impacts of adopting RWH techniques(e.g.cisterns,concrete and clay ponds,Wadi ponds,earth dams,and stone terraces)in different uses to increase water availability.The results showed a simple sharing of the female component among beneficiaries,while concrete ponds and cisterns were the most used techniques.Actually,social impacts were noticeable by sharing the same RWH structure and reflected to responsibility skills and role exchange increases.On the other hand,RWH techniques showed a significant economic impact for end users represented by enhancing domestic,agricultural,and recreational activities leading to good profit increase.In addition to food security as output,the most important environmental impact was water wasting prevention,which in turn could be linked to sustainable water management and considered as universal challenge for future generations.
基金This work was supported by the Qinchuangyuan Project of Shaanxi Province,China(QCYRCXM-2022-145)the Major Project of the Key Research Base of Humanities and Social Sciences of the Ministry of Education,China(22JJD790052)+1 种基金the Chinese Universities Scientific Fund(Z1010422003)the National Natural Science Foundation of China(72373117).
文摘With increasing population and changing demographics,food consumption has experienced a significant transition in quantity and quality.However,a dearth of knowledge remains regarding its environmental impacts and how it responds to demographic dynamics,particularly in emerging economies like China.Using the two-stage Quadratic Almost Demand System(QUAIDS)model,this study empirically examines the impact of demographic dynamics on food consumption and its environmental outcomes based on the provincial data from 2000 to 2020 in China.Under various scenarios,according to changes in demographics,we extend our analysis to project the long-term trend of food consumption and its environmental impacts,including greenhouse gas(GHG)emissions,water footprint(WF),and land appropriation(LA).The results reveal that an increase in the proportion of senior people significantly decreases the consumption of grain and livestock meat and increases the consumption of poultry,egg,and aquatic products,particularly for urban residents.Moreover,an increase in the proportion of males in the population leads to higher consumption of poultry and aquatic products.Correspondingly,in the current scenario of an increased aging population and sex ratio,it is anticipated that GHG emissions,WF,and LA are likely to decrease by 1.37,2.52,and 3.56%,respectively.More importantly,in the scenario adhering to the standards of nutritional intake according to the Dietary Guidelines for Chinese Residents in 2022,GHG emissions,WF,and LA in urban areas would increase by 12.78,20.94,and 18.32%,respectively.Our findings suggest that changing demographics should be considered when designing policies to mitigate the diet-environment-health trilemma and achieve sustainable food consumption.
基金Supported by Science and Technology Support Program of Sichuan Province(2014NZ0044)~~
文摘[Objective] The aim was to investigate the application effect of swine manure-straw returning and to determine the best mode. [Method] A field experiment under rice and wheat rotation with different swine manure-straw treatments was con- ducted to study the growth characters and output of rice and wheat, calculate the economic benefit and carbon dioxide emission reduction, and analyze the best mode of swine manure applying-straw returning. [Result] The swine manure-straw returning was conducive to the growth of crop, the highest outputs of rice and wheat were on the treatment of ＂30% swine manure and 20% straw and 50% chemical fertiliz- er＂, they were 7 874.57 and 6 427.00 kg/hm^2, and saved cost about 5 146.35 Yuan/hm^2, increased input 5 312.56 and 3 931.93 Yuan/hm^2, the greenhouse gas e- mission reduction was 1.30 t/hm^2 （calculated according to carbon dioxide on a dry basis）. [Conclusion] The treatment of ＂30% swine manure and 20% straw and 50% chemical fertilizer＂ was the best mode of swine manure-straw returning.
基金supported by the Hebei Province Cultural and Artistic Science Planning and Tourism Research Project[Grant No.HB22-ZD002].
文摘Carbon peak and carbon neutrality(dual-carbon)are important targets for the international response to climate change.The Silk Road Economic Belt is a strategic resource region and is important for future ecological environment and tourism development.Based on the“dual-carbon”targets,the Single index quantification,Multiple index synthesis,and Poly-criteria integration evaluation model were used in this study to measure the coordinated development index of the ecological environment,public service,and tourism economy along the Silk Road Economic Belt and to analyze its spatial and temporal evolution.Further,it explores the dynamic evolution and development trend of the three systems using the Kernel Density and Grey Markov Prediction Model.The results show that the coordinated development index along this region needs to be improved during the study period.Furthermore,the coordinated development index of the Southwest region is relatively higher than that of the Northwest region.From the development trend of the three systems,all of them develop in a stable manner;however,the tourism economy system is easily affected by external disturbances.The coordinated development index of the three systems changes dynamically and tends to be in a good state of coordination.There is a certain spatial and temporal heterogeneity.The gravity center of the coordinated development index has been in the Southwest region.During the forecast period,the coordinated development index along this region will improve significantly,while insufficient and unbalanced development will continue.
文摘Community-based ecotourism (CBET) aims to empower local communities through engagement and participation. Cambodia serves as a prime example of a developing country where the local community necessitates sustained stakeholder support to foster empowerment and promote local economic development. Ecotourism and conservation are among the major issues of concern in the study of community development. This study used the main five eco-tourism areas in Cambodia as examples. It looks at the connections between eco-innovations in tourism products, community engagement, co-creation experiences, support for CBET, perceived impact likelihood outcomes, community economic benefits, environmentally responsible behavior in ecotourism sites, and biodiversity conservation. The study employed a quantitative research approach to investigate and parameterize the dynamic ecotourism components as well as to explore key factors that influence the CBET. We collected the data using a self-administered survey on 398 local eco-based tourism communities that sell services and products to tourists. We also asked for structured questionnaire items of local communities that provide tourism services to visitors in eco-tourism destination sites in 2022-2023. The SEM results showed that this study significantly impacted and confirmed all relationships among research variables, as proposed in the conceptual model. We also discuss in detail the research findings of this study.
文摘Renewable energy technologies, while often labeled as clean or net-zero alternatives to fossil fuels, involve substantial use of critical minerals in products like electric vehicles, solar panels, wind turbines, and battery storage systems. This aspect is frequently underappreciated, yet studies indicate it could be a significant area of environmental impact. For instance, research has shown that a typical electric vehicle needs around six times the mineral resources of a conventional vehicle, while an onshore wind turbine requires nine times the mineral input compared to a gas power plant of similar capacity. This paper seeks to analyze the environmental effects linked to the critical minerals required by certain renewable energy technologies. The study begins with an estimation of the future megawatt capacities for each type of renewable technology. Next, it calculates the specific mineral quantities necessary for each model, followed by an assessment of the environmental repercussions tied to their extraction and processing. The results highlight the unique environmental challenges posed by the rising demand for minerals in solar and wind energy systems, taking into account various adoption scenarios.
文摘Wind energy is one of the most basic forms of renewable energy,which shows an increasing rate of development worldwide and also at the European level.However,this rapid deployment of wind farms makes the need for an impact assessment of this type of projects on the natural and man-made environment imperative.The present paper aims to identify and assess the environmental impacts of wind farm projects in the Region of Central Greece.A modified Rapid Impact Assessment Matrix(RIAM)method is used for this purpose.The methodology includes the identification of the existing onshore wind farm projects in the study area,the appropriate modifications of the RIAM method to respond to the characteristics of the projects and the study area,the qualitative assessment of their potential impacts during construction and operational phases and the computation of the Environmental Performance Grade(EPG)of projects based on the pro-posed modified RIAM method.The results reveal that although there are some slight negative impacts on the natural environment of the study area,the examined wind farms contribute positively both to the atmosphere and to the socio-economic environment of the study.This study extends the potential for using RIAM as a tool in environmental impact assessment studies of renewable energy projects.
基金funded by the National Key R&D Project[Grant No.2019YFC1903900]Key R&D Province[Grant No.2023SFGC0101]Taishan Scholar Project[Grant No.tsqn202103010].
文摘Micro-energy systems contribute significantly to environmental improvement by reducing dependence on power grids through the utilization of multiple renewable energy sources.This study quantified the environmental impact of a micro-energy network system in an industrial park through a life cycle assessment using the operation of the micro-energy network over a year as the functional unit and“cradle-to-gate”as the system boundary.Based on the baseline scenario,a natural gas generator set was added to replace central heating,and the light pipes were expanded to constitute the optimized scenario.The results showed that the key impact categories for both scenarios were global warming,fine particulate matter formation,human carcinogenic toxicity,and human non-carcinogenic toxicity.The overall environmental impact of the optimized scenario was reduced by 68%compared to the baseline scenario.A sensitivity analysis of the key factors showed that electricity from the power grid was the key impact factor in both scenarios,followed by central heating and natural gas.Therefore,to reduce the environmental impact of network systems,it is necessary to further optimize the grid power structure.The research approach can be used to optimize micro-energy networks and evaluate the environmental impact of different energy systems.
文摘Because of environmental constraints,beef cattle was for more than a century the only viable farming option in the extensive semiarid and subhumid lands of Argentina and the main source of nutrients for humans as well.However,a growing concern and criticism have risen today about its possible negative impact on the climate and the environment.These worries tend to affect current public opinions,national policies,and international trade.Based on 40 beef cattle farms scattered across different semiarid and subhumid regions of Argentina,here we evaluated the impact of extensive cattle production on carbon,water,and nutrient pollution.Life-Cycle Assessment(LCA)and Land-Based Assessment(LBA)were the two approaches we used here to compare the environmental impact of beef production.While the environmental footprint(EF)resulting from LCA expresses the impact per unit of food,the environmental balance(EB),derived from LBA,aims at quantifying the impact per unit of land.As such,the EB considers both negative and positive impacts on the farm as an integrated system.Following standardized procedures,we evaluated EF and EB up to the farm gate,leaving aside delocalized post-farm impacts such as those of processing,packaging,and transportation that occur beyond the farm gate.In agreement with previous evidence,our results show that the EF tends to decrease as per-head production increases.Correlation coefficients and statistical significance were the following for carbon(R=−0.574;p<0.01),water(R=−0.561;p<0.01),and N(R=−0.704;p<0.01)and Phosphorus(P)pollution(R=−0.802;p<0.01)footprints.On the contrary,the EB seems to be highly sensitive,and as per-hectare beef production increases.Correlations were the following for carbon emissions(CE:R=0.955;p<0.01),water consumption(WC:R=0.822;p<0.01),nitrogen excretion(NE:R=0.948;p<0.01)and phosphorus excretion(PE:R=0.945;p<0.01).What our results suggest is that the notion of EF is useful to evaluate the environmental impact in intensive beef production systems,and the EB is suitable to assess the impact of the extensive ones.In practice,both approaches provide different perspectives on the environmental-impact problem and they should be complementary used.We concluded that the methodological rigidity of EF does not allow proper discrimination among farms in the extensive systems.On the contrary,the EB approach tended to be highly sensitive to detecting differences between individual farms and farmers,thus allowing the identification of successful options for extensive beef production in terms of public image,policy-making,and commercial opportunities.
文摘A good quality Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) is key for the effectiveness of Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) processes and consequently to the acceptability of projects subject to EIA. The international literature has contributed to the understanding of the essential aspects to be verified regarding the quality of EIS, offering a wide spectrum of good practice examples related to the content of the studies. Even so, there is a need for empirical studies that allow the identification of specific aspects related to the context of application of the EIS, which could lead to the identification of opportunities to improve both the quality of the reports and also the effectiveness of EIA. Therefore, the present paper is focused on the quality review of a number of EIS submitted to the Brazilian Federal Environmental Agency (Ibama) to instruct the assessment of electric power transmission systems. Based on the application of the EIS quality review package as proposed by Lee and Colley (1992), the outcomes reveal opportunities for improving the scope of EIA, analysis of alternatives, prediction of magnitude and the assessment of impact significance. Finally, the development and/or adaptation of a similar tool for the systematic review of the quality of EIA reports is recommended.
文摘Follow-up of environmental impacts is an integral part of the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) process, closely related to the effectiveness of the instrument. EIA follow-up has been receiving a lot of interest from scientists and practitioners, though it is recognized as one of the weakest points of EIA systems globally. Also, EIA follow-up is influenced by the context, mainly in terms of the types of projects or activities and their related impacts on the environment. Therefore, the present paper is focused on the investigation of the follow-up stage applied to the activity of seismic survey coupled with offshore oil & gas exploitation in Brazil. Research was based on a qualitative approach that included document analysis and semi-structured interviews with analysts involved in EIA processes, and sought to generate evidence of effectiveness of the EIA follow-up as conducted by the Federal Environment Agency (Ibama) in order to situate the practice of follow-up in the broader context of international best practice principles. Based on the findings, it was concluded that, due to the peculiarities of offshore seismic survey, it is necessary to promote adaptations in the procedures for monitoring impacts in order to ensure proper alignment with the principles and conceptual foundations that guide EIA practice. Specifically, the timing of the execution of the activity imposes challenges for its integration into the “conventional” cycle that has guided the monitoring of the impacts in the EIA of projects.
